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--- game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:adventure_journal [2025/09/17 16:59] – [What did you say?] Bryan Stephens
+++ game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:adventure_journal [2025/11/12 12:33] (current) – [Military Intelligence and other Oxymorons] Bryan Stephens
@@ Line 834: / Line 834: @@
 Her brooding is interrupted by a summons by the guards. She is taken to out processing and meets her lawyer.
-//”Hello, Captain Duncan. I was hired by a friend to come get you out. Your bond has been paid, at Cr50,000 of course, in Imperial credits. I will help you with this misunderstanding.”
+//”Hello, Captain Duncan. I was hired by a friend to come get you out. Your bond has been paid, at Cr50,000 of course, in Imperial credits. I will help you with this misunderstanding.”//
 //”Excuse me but who are you and what friend?”// this seems faster than she expected from her phone call.
@@ Line 842: / Line 842: @@
 Sharri gets his card, //how quaint// and then calls Hanson to say she is out. They head to meet her, while Hason gets a call from Vinmark.
-//”Your friend is already out. Fastest I have ever seen that happen. Bond paid too.”// //
+//”Your friend is already out. Fastest I have ever seen that happen. Bond paid too.”//
 Hanson thanks him and says to keep the retainer. That was paid in good faith. Vinmark is happy to have Imperial credits and agrees. Viktor, Sharri, Rally, and Hanson meet at the hotel. Who in hades is Songhime, and what is going on?
@@ Line 852: / Line 852: @@
 === What do we do without Sharri?===
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:npcs:sharritoknight.png?400|}}
 The three men and their captain arrive back at their hotel, the Imperial. They are met by two men dressed in the uniforms of the Imperial Marines. They present identification and ask Sharri to come with them to answer questions about the piracy attack to Sir Alec. It is immediately clear to Viktor this is a maneuver to get Sharri out of the jurisdiction of Ramiva, and into Imperial control. He makes a note to thank Sir Alec for the favor, but out loud he jokes,
@@ Line 870: / Line 872: @@
 === Shari-less Shenanigans ===
+{{:game_systems:traveller:pcstuff:galenat_bar.png?350 |}}
 Viktor and Galen end their shadowing of their crewmates and seek out a place to get more information on the pirates. After some good discussion on their walk, Viktor looks up the less reputable Mercenary companies. He is able to single out three in a close area in the City, all of whom tend to use the same bar, The Spent Casing.
@@ Line 878: / Line 882: @@
 Galen grins. His people. After a year with playing it straight, it’s good to be back. Galen wades into the fray and is soon fully engaged. He buys some drinks with Imperial credits (the sign of success of mercenaries of Ramiva), and engages in the typical wild storytelling. Some of the stories are even true!. As the hours pass, Galen manages his liquor well enough to stay on top, and old trick from running the casino.
 What he finds is both enlightening and a dead end. There are some stories of people being hired on to be heavies for ships that could match the pirates. Of note, none of those people have yet come back from work. Not that long trips are out of the ordinary, transit times being what they are. It is clear to Galen that some locals have been used, but it does not generate any information about who is behind it. It does confirm his ideas on off world money.
@@ Line 890: / Line 896: @@
 Viktor has more class than to ask about the honesty of the game. It seems that this Grimes is a mercenary now, actually part of a B Teir group as a former Marine, but maybe he has friends in low places.
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:pcstuff:viktor_city.png?350|}}
 Hanson and Rally return from their day, and Rally is nonplussed the other two men have been out to “party”, despite it being work. He badgers Hanson into going to a club, and they head to the concierge at the Imperial for advice. A fan who knows Rally, he suggests a club where upon arrival, Hanson is dismayed to find out it is a strip club, the Golden Pony. Rally says,
@@ Line 908: / Line 916: @@
 For the rest of the evening, the rocker is always in his friend’s line of sight. Rally’s attempt to smuggle out drugs comes to naught.
 When they return to the hotel, Viktor has managed to decode the phone call he intercepted. He is just finished telling Galen the contents. Clearly, Grimes is tracked them to here. They have no idea what might but up, but maybe Rally has the answer. Rally tells the others what he saw on the news. They all take a look, and Viktor is shaking his head. Rally’s phone rings. It is Sharri!
@@ Line 926: / Line 936: @@
 === Playing the Roll of Rally ===
+{{:game_systems:traveller:places:rally.png?400 |}}
 Nothing untoward happens during the next day. Sgt. Hanson keeps an eye and a strong arm on Rally until the meet and greet that evening. Because the High Speaker is attending, no one has any weapons. The security is very complete. No one may come or go while he is there. Rally is in his element. The guests, including several lovely women Sharri did secure among fans are in attendance. This is VIP. The High Speaker arrives and Rally goes to work.
@@ Line 952: / Line 964: @@
+====== 12 Trinbulations ======
+|Game Date|10/5/25|
+|Campaign Dates|1099, 191-198|
+==== Leaving Ramiva by Firefight ====
+{{:game_systems:traveller:npcs:elden_sarvik.png?300 |}}
+Sharri takes a shuttle up to highport to wait for the party as the lights of the great cavern start to brighten in the artificial morning of Ramiva’s day. The men gather to head to the downport. They would not allow them their grav vehicle in the city, so Tangie has been waiting there with it. They will take the Imperial Hotel’s Shuttle to the downport.
+Varis Wagner is their driver. He is a retired mercenary, who did not get rich or make it “big”. He works as a driver for Imperial and they are happy to have him. He is licensed to carry and has acted as security on more than one occasion. Rally was insistent that his crossbow //”not be squashed, mate.”//. Varis made sure it was packed in the seat. Both were about to become useful.
+Sgt. Hanson and Galen are already in the van in the back seat, and Viktor is closing up the doors, while Rally is boarding and Varis is standing by the driver’s door. This is when a black SUV comes pulling up. Viktor and Galen immediately are on guard: something is up. Viktor pulls his gun as he moves to the left side door taking cover. Galen simply fires out the back window, shattering it to make for the ability to target. Hanson struggles to exit the vehicle, climbing over the seats as Rally leapt into the van. Both men knew where they wanted to be.
+Galen takes aim at the driver, but his shot does not penetrate the windshield. Viktor aims and waits. Three doors open, and three men get out, leaving only the driver inside. Viktor fires into the man on the left as Rally grabs and loads his crossbow. Hanson emerges, only to be caught center mass by a stunner. To the amazement of the crew assaulting them, the former marine just grins. He feels the effects, but that one shot is not enough to bring him down, even with his limited armor. Hason grins and returns fire.
+Varis joins the fray, striking Viktor’s target, while Galen also hits Hanson’s target, the front passenger side. The man is not down thanks to his armor. At least until Rally puts a bolt through his eye. At this point the driver has had and enough and accelerates forward, smashing the driver side of the van. Viktor and Varis both leap inside the van as the SUV knocks off both doors.
+That leaves one man standing, his ride gone. Stunned, when he Hanson demands he surrender he does. As he sits up, Viktor yells,
+//”Get in him inside and let’s go! We don’t want any police!”//
+As Varis sits up, Rally jokes,
+//”Driver, we are heading on.”//
+As Varis makes for the downport, Viktor and Hanson use the zip ties on their captive to bind his hands. This is Elden Sarvik. From an old ID, he used to work for the Ministry of Oversight. Despite Viktor’s efforts, he refuses to talk. Viktor contacts Sir Alrec and notifies him of what happened and their plans. Hanson gets the bright idea to try to read his mind but fails. However, Tangie is at the downport.
+They arrive and are waved in. Safe on Imperial territory, they slow and head for their vehicle. Some of the Knight’s men move towards them. Viktor takes Tangie aside and asks her to read his mind. She gives in and does so. By the time the Knight’s men arrive, Viktor is pretending he is talking to a contact on his comm. Sarvik cannot believe what he is hearing. This man knows //everything//. Sarvik is ready to confess to the Knight’s men.
+Rally wants to make sure that Varis will be OK, and the Knight’s men assure him it will be taken care of. The four men then climb into their grav car with Tangie and Viktor takes them straight to the Highport. It is time to leave. With little ceremony, they leave the highport and head for jump distance. As soon as they hit jump space, Viktor crashes to sleep on a table in the medbay.
+==== Getting to Trin ====
+Sharri does not know why, but she can see that Tangie is upset. She takes her into her quarters, a first for any of the crew. Tangie, like Sharri was, is amazed and the painting of Sharri’s Great Aunt. Tangie admits what she did and how uncomfortable it made her. Scanning passengers surface thoughts for safety on her own is one thing; reading the mind of a captive for information is another. Sharri is livid. She calls the men into the mess and dresses them down, making it clear her displeasure. Galen makes a point to apologize to Tangie afterwards. The rest of the week passes normally, with the crew mostly relaxing. With no passengers and no cargo, there is room to run around the hold, and no one to worry about. Sharri, every the caretaker, makes sure everyone is doing well.
+=== Trin ===
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:places:trin.png?400|}}
+Trin itself is a marvel. Colonized not long after Mora, Trin is the ‘back door to the Marches’. It can be reached from Deneb by an easy jump-2 route through well-developed worlds, with good ports in the Gulf subsector. This creates a lucrative trade run into Trin, from where it is possible to head coreward and join the Spinward Main or spinward towards Glisten. Large quantities of goods move through Trin’s excellent highport, which has many brokerages and commercial dispute resolution firms. Most ships are larger types; corporate freighters and liners rather than small, privately-owned ships but Trin’s shipyards are used for refits by many smaller operators - at least, those who can afford the fees.
+Trin Highport also hosts a very large independent merchant academy, the Imperial Trin Institute of Commerce (ITIC). ITIC trains merchant spacer crews but also offers courses in related areas such as brokerage and business law. Many of the personnel on the ‘spacer’ side of the institute also undertake Naval Reservist training at the Imperial Navy base in the system. This serves as headquarters for the subsector fleet and a base for heavy squadrons of the Sector Fleet. Trin’s system defenses are commanded from a ground installation on Trin itself but many of the system defense vessels berth at the naval base. Trin also has a small scout base to serve the communications network.
+There is one other major facility in the Trin system, the world of Ling Standard Products Spinward, named for the corporate facility built on it in the early years of corporate expansion into the area. Originally planned to take over as regional headquarters from the facility at Mora, it instead became a manufacturing site with a side line in researching improved industrial techniques.
+Trin itself is a medium-sized world with a dense, tainted atmosphere and low water coverage. There are no moons, although Trin had one in the past. The cloud of reflective debris that makes dawn and sunset so spectacular on Trin is the remnant of this satellite, which broke up due to gravitational stresses.
+Trin is at the peak of technology in the Imperium, and “cutting edge” developments come from this world. The world’s population numbers in the tens of billions. As with many high population worlds, Trin’s people are concentrated in very large cities surrounded by agricultural areas. Even with such a large population, there is plenty of land and well-regulated agriculture, using high-technology methods, is capable of feeding Trin’s billions without resorting to bulk food imports or low-quality subsistence rations. Indeed, Trin is a strong contender for one of the best places to live in Charted Space; the cities are not crowded and very well-designed by a civilization that has had gravitic transportation since the world was colonized. Buildings are characteristically tall, with wide spaces between them filled with parks and recreation facilities. Most Trin residents are used to thinking in three dimensions when getting about, the idea of being stuck at ground level is foreign to them.
+In short, this is close to industrialized paradise as exists in the Imperium.
+=== Arrival ===
+{{:game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:kdv.png?400 |}}
+Upon arriving in any system, it is common to transmit your intentions for flight plans. Some place like Trin, with is crowded spaceways is it a necessity. As they finish the normal handoffs, the crew is surprised to have a message from Kestrel–Deveraux Veilworks , the very place that outfitted //Starlight Drifter//.
+//”Starlight Drifter, this is Kestrel–Deveraux Veilworks. Welcome Home.”//
+Sharri blinks and is startled but she issues a response directly, //”This is Captain Sharri Duncan. Thank you. We would like to put in for repairs.”//
+The response is swift, //”Captain Duncan we would love you bring your ship home to be repaired. We are, as we always have been, in Slip A-19 on the “Crown Spindle” Ring. “//
+Galen enters the flight path, and the //Drifter// is guided into a dock.
+Kestrel–Deveraux Veilworks (KDV) are boutique TL-15 outfitters known for refitting small traders for long-range, low-signature work. Ex-Navy engineers moonlight here; they’re discreet and pricey. Sharring knows that they are responsible for the //Drifter’s// Veil-Tuned™ fusion plant calibration, Shadow Weave™-radar-absorbent skin panels, upgraded Harrier™ jump-capacitor bank, and the Veil-Lock™ Signature Signet access system (their DNA-pricking rings).Founded by Merek Deveraux and Tarek Kestrel, it is now run by Tarek and Merek’s daughter Sana.
+After docking, Sharri is met by Sana and Tarek. Sharri is ready for Tarek’s remarks,
+“//You look just like Anne//” he says, referring to the original owner of //Starlight Drifter// Sharri’s Great Aunt, Anne Troja.
+//”I get that a lot. I never knew her, but always dreamed of doing this. Here I am.”//
+//”Well, we will get to work. This is Qin Haro,”// Tarek introduces a young man, //”Best in hull coatings around. And looking at that … particle beam damage…”//, Tarek guesses correctly, //”You coating is going to need some work”//.
+//”The power plant too. They would not touch it at Ramiva”// says Hanson, //”I just made sure it would get us here”//.
+Tarek nods. As they stand here, a young man, clearly related to the elder Kestrel comes up and kisses Sana on the cheek. He gets introduced as Avin Kestrel, Terek’s son. Sharri and Galen go with the KDV crew to talk what needs to be done and survey the ship. Afterwards, they host them for dinner.
+Viktor announces he is headed for the Travaller’s Aid Society club. He is ready for a break, and suspects a TAS hostel on a Tech Level 15 world will be outstanding. Tangie approaches him and asks if he can sponsor her into TAS membership. This will cost the megacredit she was paid by the Imperium after her kidnapping.
+//”That is quite a lot of money. Are you sure?”// he asks of her
+//”Viktor, I am younger than all of you. I don’t know if I am going to do this forever. TAS membership gives me passages every other month and places to stay. It is an investment in my future. Sharri pays me well enough each month and I have no real expenses on the ship. “//
+//”Da, I understand. It will be my pleasure.”//
+While a single megacredit stick ought to raise an eyebrow, the staff at TAS act as if it is nothing. Tangie is given a membership card and chooses to get a room there as well to enjoy the luxury of it.
+For Viktor, this is the nicest TAS facility he has seen, even better than the one on Mora, which is much more … ostentatious. This is the TAS of a world that is totally secure in its place. And all the rooms are oriented to have spectacular views of the rings. Viktor requests an appointment with the Director, and is told it may take some days. He shrugs at the bureaucracy and enjoys his day.
+Sgt. Hanson and Rally want to go shopping. They immediately head down to Trin itself. It is time to see what they can find. And maybe what trouble they can get into.
+|Game Date|11/2/25|
+|Campaign Dates|1099, 198-208|
+==== Supper and Shopping ====
+Sharri and her pilot Galen take supper with the owners of KDV. The young Sana is enthralled with Sharri’s and Galen’s stories of their adventures since she inherited the //Starlight Drifter//. The evening runs long, because, even edited, there is a lot to say. This leads Sana to ask for help.
+//”You have done so much. I wonder if you might help us. We have been pressured to let certain goods transship through KDV, by a group of “investors” calling themselves “RTDD”. The goods show up on a private ship. We unpack them and sort them into designated parcels. It is clear these are some sort of prototypes coming from LSP. The stuff that is in one sort, anyway. The other stuff is clearly normal things for cover. Both sets go out on another ship. Never the same delivery or pick up ships. And we offload the cargo so they don’t see it.”//
+//”We know it is shady. Terek refused at first, then suddenly, some regulator is showing up threatening to shut us down. We get told by RTDD the can make it go away if we play ball. Anyway, after 5 shipments, here we are.”//
+Sharri immediately wants to get Viktor’s input. She promises they can look into things. This ends the meal, but makes the engagement with KDV more personal. Oddly, Sharri likes this. She has taken a shine to the younger Sana, who seems to dream of flying to the stars as much as Sharri ever did.
+The next day, the whole crew is on the planet shopping and sight seeing in the Trin downport startown, Sunfall Verge (Where the Shattered Halo meets the credit chip). Sharri has little interest in spending money on things, and instead plans to get with Viktor to also be sponsored for the Travallers Aid Society. That would fulfill a life long dream.
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:places:cybernetics.png?200|}}
+Sunfall Verge is Trin at its finest: Sleek, vertical, and lit by the world’s famous “Shattered Halo.” Built in three bands—the glassy Promenade Tier (shows, fine dining, museums), the efficient Transit Stack (magskid hubs, capsule hotels, Sunfall Medplex – Aesculon Cybernetics Pavilion), and the neatly pressure-washed Underwalk (service corridors and the discreet Shadow Bourse for “collector-grade” restricted wares)—it offers legal high-tech shopping at Vector-9 Arcade, tourist draws like the Shatterwalk Skybridge, Lift Gardens, and Halo Plaza’s Chronofountain, plus marquee spectacles (SHATTERLIGHT!, The Marches) and sharper cabaret (Zero-G Tease, AB•SIN(θ)). Culture fans drift between the Museum of the Marches Trade and the Shattered Halo Interpretive Center, while diners orbit Periapsis, The Quiet Vector, and the invitation-only Ling Standard Supper Club. Port Authority patrols and compliance drones keep everything glossy: stunners declared, kinetics sealed, and every deal brokered like art.
+Sharri, spends several days taking in the sights, enjoying what the high tech city had to offer. She window shops various boutique stores meant for tourists, buying nothing. At some point in the week, she talks with Viktor and gets her TAS membership, and takes him to speak with KDV to fully understand their story.
+Hanson, Rally, Galen, and Viktor all shop for weapons and other equipment. Hanson and Galen make a point of visiting the Shadow Bourse for their “specialty” items, paying more to make sure everything is above board. Viktor shops the Vector 9 Arcade.
+After shopping, both Hanson and Galen check in with the Sunfall Medplex at Aesculon Cybernetics. Each undergoes extensive subdurmal body armor and other upgrades. Their recovery will be long for both of them, with a week in rehab and then a few more weeks in out patient.
+==== Military Intelligence and other Oxymorons ====
+On their second day, Viktor is surprised when he gets his meeting with military intelligence. He meets with Capt. Jace Orvelle with the Office of Fleet Intelligence. Capt. Orvelle is polite, but skeptical of Viktor’s report. He has no record of any request for Naval support from Marquis Terik  or Sir Dane, though he is aware of some pirate activity. The extent of this direct request and report amazes him. Orvelle create s secure link to Viktor’s phone and promises him he will look into it. Viktor leaves very suspicious of how things have been processed in the office. He smells an inside man.
+After this visit, he talks with KDV and gets Sharri sponsored into TAS. While Galen and Hanson are getting surgery and staying on the planet, Rally is off enjoying himself, not feeling the need for a bodyguard this far from his old enemies. Viktor, Sharri, and Tangie all keep in rooms at the TAS hostel for the next week. With the knowledge that LSP parts are being shipped through KDV, Sharri insists she wants to eat at the Ling Standard Supper Club. Normally by invitation only; the TAS concierge is easily able to get them a table. Sharri feels that maybe they can rub elbows with some LSP types. Viktor is not sure this will work at all, however Sharri seems quite taken with the idea, as if it is out of a spy romance novel. She tries to dress them up to the nines, but needs Tangie’s help to get it right. They leave with Viktor with two lovely women hanging on him.
+Viktor notices the tail immediately. After leaving their autotaxi, Tangie notices as well and mentions it to Viktor. He tells her to ignore it. Their tail does not follow them into the Supper Club, which would be hard based on its exclusive nature. Their dinner is quite nice, this being one of the finest spots in the Verge.
+{{ :game_systems:traveller:starlightdrifter:lssupper.png?300|}}
+As they are waiting for desert, a sharply dressed woman departs from her group and walks to their table, her eyes on Viktor. He rises to meet her. She introduces herself as Thalia Casteen, a retired Admiral for the Imperial Navy with questions about the pirates in Ramiva. Viktor invites her to sit down. Sharri runs a data search and finds out this woman is now working for LSP as a consultant, a typical arrangement, though often seen as a way to land contracts. She is pleasant on the surface, but the danger is clear to them all. She knows all about their activity at Ramiva, including items in Viktor’s report. Her final request is that they //”Stop smearing Naval honor”//. She then departs to her table.
+Viktor goes to work with his new eavesdropping attachment to her comm to listen in on her conversation. It is all above board, and the only thing of note he can hear is that this dinner party was a very last minute thing, perhaps within the last hour. Tangie offers to scan one of them, and Sharri and Viktor assent. While Viktor listens and Tangie concentrates, both appear totally board with Sharri, who launches into what appears to be a semi-drunken, conversation, the type that is more a monolog.
+As they leave in their autotaxi, Sharri asks about bugs. Viktor frowns and pulls his comm out. Sharri her’s as well. The two work together to find several bug sized self-mobile listening devices. A TL16 planet is scary indeed. They have them squashed by the time they return to the TAS hotel.
+Tangie gives them her report. The Admerial (Ret) clearly was there to deliver a warning. Casteen knows more than she should. And the young telepath catches a single name: Luthien. She thinks it is a last name, but she is sure she would recognize the face.
+Meanwhile, during their recovery, both Hanson and Galen are approached by Agent Smith, working for Trin security. He is interested in how two men engaged as employees on a freighter have hundreds of thousands of credits to spend for combat upgrades. Hanson if courteous but asks for a lawyer to be present and the agent leaves. Galen is more talkative, perhaps not as good a thing. They both let Viktor know what happened. The two are discharged to outpatient care the next day and will need to find rooms.

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